The Muslim Child and Reading

06/01/2013| IslamWeb

Reading is the basis for development in the field of modern sciences. Ever since the printer was invented and books became attainable, the world developed quickly.

Learning to read in our age has become one of the necessities of life. To be sure, the unlettered among the lettered is like the blind among the sighted.

Concerning the child, reading is a main source of knowledge and learning. Reading, in its simple sense of browsing through the pages of a book and seeing the pictures, is what concerns the child before he learns to read and enters school. The children’s book, in so many instances, is like a toy made of paper containing a lot of drawings, which encourage him to go through its pages and learn what it contains with the help of his parents and teachers, in order to obtain knowledge.

There are many levels of writing for children in terms of content, according to the addressed age. The younger the child is, the more drawings and the less words it has; and the older he is, the less drawings and the more words it has. Furthermore, the child's reading material develops to extend to the writing style and the quality of content. It varies in terms of content, style, formulation and even artistic presentation by the difference of age and environment in which the child lives.

The child's need for reading is essential in order to satisfy his desire for learning and to get acquainted with the things around him and the world in which he lives.

By time, it develops within him love for reading. Whoever is brought up on reading from his early childhood loves books when he grows up, and reading becomes his favorite hobby.

The development of the child's reading faculties does not ensue from filling the children's minds with information in so much as from carefully choosing what suits them, on the one hand, and what they need, on the other hand, without invalidating the foundations and constants the child has acquired from the family and which are supposed to spring from religion. In spite of the negative effect of the TV in our present time, as it distracts the children from reading, it is incumbent upon educators and instructors to take notice of their passive sitting in front of it for long hours. It indeed habituates them to laziness, as far as reading is concerned, and to many other things. In this study, we shall present a brief comment on these other negatives. It repels from them the innate inclination to read, and, so many times, makes them feel it is a heavy undesired burden.

When considering the children's inclination concerning reading, two points should be observed:

    • The first is the child's own desires and inclinations

    • The second is the objectives the educators seek to achieve, and the child's needs he likes to fulfill.

It is more useful to observe those two points, i.e. not to neglect the child's inclinations and desires. But at the same time, those inclinations and desires should be implied in cultural and educational materials, essential to him. But many times, the trace of this benefit could hardly be visible in him. This is even more confirmed in our present time, because a lot of foreign influences of information overlap on the child, and deviate him from his natural inclinations; rather, they direct him to things which may be, in so many times, unsuitable for him, or irrelevant to his needs.

The stages of a child's interest in reading:

    • In the second year, the child shows some interest in pictures points at them, and tries to touch them if they are prominent.

    • In the third year, he likes to listen to comments on those pictures, and simple tales related to them, and gives special care to the pictures and their meanings.

    • In the fourth year, he memorizes the stories and tries to relate them, and is pleased with imagination, and likes to comment on all the pictures and their meanings, and why they appear in a certain position apart from another.

    • In the fifth year, he likes to read letters and recognize their connotations.

    • In the sixth year, he starts to learn reading depending on illustrative pictures and forms, and is happy to find somebody to read long stories for him with their accompanying illustrative pictures, and is pleased with their related details and events.

When developed, reading has a strong influence on the child. It opens to him the horizons of knowledge and the world of this life, and with it he learns the things and instruments surrounding him, and how he can avoid risks and accidents.

The child who reads books other than those of the school indeed develops his own experiences, refines his faculties, utilizes his free time, and makes a balance between his need for play and his need for learning.

What does the child read?

The child always loves to live in his daily environment. He likes the stories that are close to his reality, family, and daily life events.

In his early years, the child likes the stories of animals, and is fond of family affairs and the instruments he sees and lives with everyday. When the children grow a bit and their mental faculties develop, they incline to be interested in general knowledge, and stories of history, heroism and inventions.

With the progress of their life towards the age of adolescence, they start becoming interested in the stories about the reality of their community, and their intellectual faculties develop and they sometimes like to go through adult books.

The girls in their advanced years (before adolescence) have a desire for the stories of the family and social and emotional relations, far from heroism and detective adventures which the males incline to and like.

Characteristics of reading material favored by children:

Children like to read the materials which have the following characteristics:
    - Stimulate and develop imagination.
    - Sometimes use dialogue.
    - Remind of heroism, adventures and events which reveal courage.
    - Bring about delight and pleasure.
    - Provide answers to questions that engage their minds.
    - Talk about the animal world.
    - Inspirational stories (e.g. religious stories).
    - Present sciences and inventions in a simplified manner.
    - Imply the values and concepts of the community in a simple and easy manner.
    - Contain suspense and mystery

All of this, and more, should be put within a framework of delightful drawings, pictures and colors that bring joy to the child.